Romantic comedies impress me: Jamuna Pai

For Dr Jamuna Pai, reading books isn’t just a source of entertainment, but also an initiation of a serious thought process. Apart from autobiographies, Jamuna also likes books that are driven by strong character personalities. However, she confesses that she likes to read authors who make reading easy. She says, “I read a lot of autobiographies, the latest being Barack Obama. I have also loved reading Lee Iacocca and Richard Branson. An entrepreneur usually takes calculated risks and has a gambler instinct. I believe that there is no opportunity without risk and I admire all these people who had the guts to realise their passion.” 

For the cosmetic physician, her favourite books are those written by Sydney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer. She explains, “His stories are woven around strong ‘female’ characters with which I identify the most. A lot of his characters play mind games and are witty, hardworking and intelligent.”

She not only likes to read fiction, but also loves to catch up with history. She says, “I also read about history.  Indu Sundaresan weaves these lovely stories about Mehrunissa and the Moghul empire and her novels The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses are so steeped in history that till date I can visualise her Meena Bajar and Mehrunissa’s beauty.”

Her taste in movies, however, differs. In this case, Jamuna prefers to watch genre-based movies. She says, “Romantic comedies and musicals impress me the most. The woman behind so many beautiful faces admits that she is a hopeless romantic at heart. Her favourite is the Julia Robert’s starrer, Notting Hill. She explains, “Notting Hill, because besides being a hardworking, determined woman, I am a hopeless romantic at heart.” Jamuna holds special memories about this film which she recounts, “I have fond memories of watching this movie with my husband (who is no more), on one of our holidays, and later seeing it a half a dozen times more.”